Clans
by CrystalOfEllinon
Summary: Kamakura gaets himself into a bit of trouble...very ninja centered, because I am obsessed with ninja. I cannot help this and do not want to anyways. A requested story for General Zargon.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! Because I like it when people request fics, here's the first chappy of one that was requested by one of my muses' favorite sources of material. (Points at General Zargon) Your fault. All yours. Kamakura gets himself into a bit of trouble…

And by the way…I know Junko Akita jumped off a cliff. Well, Storm Shadow got shot like eight times in the chest by the Baroness. A fall into deep water would seem to be less terminal. And I like Storm Shadow, and thought it was BS that his girl got offed. So bear with me.

This fic takes place a few years down the road from the comics. (Obviously, if Junko is around.) Anyways, this will focus fairly firmly on the rebuilding Arashikage clan, though the Joes will drop in.

Kawai Aki-no-Kami was a historical ninja clan, or at least the family was mentioned in the _Nochi Kagami, _a record of the Ashikaga Shogunate. The clan was based in the _iga _region of Japan, and they were mentioned as having served Shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa with distinction as _shinobi _(old name for ninja) during one of his wars. I am minoring in Asian history and have spent many years learning martial arts history anyways because my _sensei_ insists that his students know where our skills came from as well as how to do them. So please forgive me for obsessive attention to such details.

* * *

Kamakura lay easily on the support beam, hidden in the shadows and ductwork of the bare industrial warehouse ceiling.

Well, once this place had been a warehouse. Now, it was chopped up into a maze of rooms and narrow halls, which sheltered some most unsavory people. According to the mission briefing he'd received, a particularly violent Yakuza clan was using this place, possibly as a place to hold kidnapped women before selling them into forced prostitution in Thailand.

The Japanese parliament had contacted the Phoenix Master; the Arashikage often worked for governmental agencies. The Phoenix Master and Silent Master were well known for their refusal to touch dirty money, which had originally earned the newly rebuilding Arashikage clan some scorn.

However, given his _Sensei_ and the Phoenix Master's military service…and Kamakura, and Jinx, and Tiger Claw, and Scarlett…the Arashikage were well-connected and perfectly placed to pick up contracts from the US government in particular. And apparently the Pentagon had pointed a few friendly countries in the direction of the ninja clan as well when an issue came up that the US military proper couldn't help with for whatever reason.

This was making the clan rather wealthy. The Pentagon in particular had both a very long list of hostile dictators, crime lords, enemy agents, terrorist leaders…and very deep pockets. As soon as the US military had figured out that it could hire honest-to-god _ninja_ for espionage and assassination that the CIA couldn't handle, it had more or less set aside a portion of their yearly budget just for that purpose.

Kamakura's current mission was simply to confirm whether or not this place was, in fact, being used as a way station to hide and ship captives. If it was, he was to bring back floor plans, shipping schedules, guard strength, weaponry…the usual. He was still on the top floor, having slunk in through an upper story window, and he already could say for certain that this place was, indeed, being used to hold women.

He gritted his teeth as he waited for the two guards below his current position to move on. The contract had been very clear; no killing unless he was first fired upon. The Japanese government wanted their own police force to make the bust if possible. But right now, listening to the two men below him carry on a very graphic conversation over just exactly what they'd done to one of the captives mere hours ago, Kamakura wanted very, very much to slip a garrote around both of their necks.

Kamakura could see why the Phoenix Master had sent him instead of Jinx, though she'd wanted this contract once she'd heard what the objective was. If Jinx had been the one to hear these two…

They _would_ have died. Slowly. Messily. _Very_ painfully.

The pair finished their smoke and went to move off along the hall. Kamakura shifted, preparing to slide off to continue his recon. The faster he got this job done, the faster the police could figure out that this job was too much for them, and the faster he _and_ Jinx would get sent back to deal with these slimebags much more terminally.

Actually, he'd put money on Mistress Junko and Scarlett wanting in on introducing this group of slavers to the sharp end of a knife too. And he'd put good odds on them getting their way, too. Officially a ninja or not, Scarlett was more than capable of taking care of herself and ten to twenty armed men. Mistress Junko was as skilled a ninja as Kamakura had ever known; she was better at the Sleeping Phoenix than anyone else in the clan but the Phoenix Master.

Which had saved her life, once. A long fall into a river had almost killed her, but not quite…and she'd been hauled out of the water by a farming family ten miles downstream. A year later she'd turned up at the gates of the Arashikage compound, having purged the last of the false memories from her mind, bearing some new physical scars but with her head together once again.

Kamakura had never seen the Phoenix Master either go so pale or look so happy before or since.

Actually, the fact that between the two of them Scarlett and Junko had the masters of the Arashikage wrapped around their fingers more or less meant that the two women had their pick of missions. Scarlett, not officially a ninja, still had trained and worked with _Sensei_ for many years, and was good backup when multiple agents were needed.

Kamakura stiffened suddenly, freezing in place on the steel beam. He might not have 'the ear that sees', but he had spent a full six months blindfolded shortly before his graduation to full field agent. His ears, consequently, were quite sharp, and were telling him right now that he wasn't the only one on the ceiling. It hadn't been so much a sound as a change in air pressure as _something_ moved…but that was enough.

He reached for a knife.

But no one attacked him. On the contrary, a pair of knives hissed down from the ceiling some fifteen feet in front of him, aimed at the Yakuza guards. Both men fell, clutching throat wounds. Kamakura nodded to himself infinitesimally. Cut trachea and voice boxes; no outcry to warn other guards. And even better, death would be slow and painful; without major arteries cut, death would come from suffocation.

A small shape dropped from the ductwork and slid over to collect its weapons. Kamakura narrowed his eyes; the other ninja was wearing long sleeves and he couldn't see any clan markings on the _gi. _ He knew for certain though that she –yes, definitely female- wasn't Arashikage.

He eased his knife out. If this woman was from a hostile clan, things could get very interesting very quickly if she discovered him. His best bet was to slip away without alerting her and finish his own mission without crossing paths again…

Twelve guards, obviously off duty and heading back from a distraction amongst the captives, walked around the corner forty feet down the hall. A shout and they broke into a run. Automatic gunfire raked the hallway, but the woman was already gone, vanished back up into the ductwork of the ceiling.

Bullets _pinged_ around Kamakura. He grinned. Well, the contract had said no killing unless he was fired at first…and there were bullets flying in his direction. Good enough for him.

_Sensei _had trained him in the use of guns as well as traditional weapons. Kamakura, like his master, favored semi-to-full-automatics, in particular the Uzi. Now he pulled his firearm out and started picking of Yakuza with more than a little satisfaction.

A small dark shape dropped down behind the group as they concentrated their attention at the bullets unerringly finding eyes and skulls from the darkness of the ceiling. A pair of _kama_ gleamed as the woman started carving through the much larger Yakuza guards without apparent effort.

It was over in seconds, and after a few more it was apparent that no more opponents were forthcoming. The woman eyed the ductwork where Kamakura was still hidden warily. Finally she pulled up one sleeve to reveal a black _kanji_ tattoo on her forearm.

"I am from Kawai Aki-no-Kami clan. I am here to assassinate Boss Hiro and kill as man of his men as possible at the bidding of a rival Yakuza clan. Are you friend or enemy?"

Kamakura relaxed. Kawai was a friendly clan, and this agent's mission did not conflict with his own. Actually, the fact that he'd gotten to shoot several slavers thanks to her rather endeared the strange woman to him.

He dropped down. Now that she'd initiated the standard circling and sniffing, it would have been an openly hostile gesture not to reciprocate.

She eyed him sharply; he rolled up his sleeve. When she saw the red lines and bars, she relaxed infinitesimally. Friendly clans, but he knew that if he turned out to be here after her target, she'd still kill him if she could if that is what it took to snatch a successful mission for her own clan. Such killings were common enough, and were considered a necessary evil by ninja. Such an incident wouldn't even be considered worth mentioning between two otherwise friendly clans.

"Arashikage clan." He said, though the clan marking on his arm had already told her as much. "Espionage only. Our missions are not in conflict."

She relaxed, sliding her weapons away. Her eyes still flashed interest, though. "Government moving on this lot, then?"

The Arashikage preference for government work was by now a well known fact amongst the other ninja clans. Kamakura simply nodded.

She eyed the corpses at their feet thoughtfully. "You fired five shots."

He nodded again.

"You killed seven men."

He shrugged.

Her mask quirked in the tiniest of smiles. "Impressive for an American. You are the apprentice of the famous Silent Master of the Arashikage, then? Kamakura?"

He raised an eyebrow. He was masked as well, of course, but ninja became adept at reading facial expression through masks by the time they became field agents.

"Your eyes give you away." Her smile turned mocking. "Not many ninja born in Japan have blue eyes, American."

Well, she had a point there. Maybe there was a reason _Sensei_ wore the visor…but then again, there were few ninja who wouldn't recognize Snake Eyes if they saw him. A brief flash of pride; his _Sensei_ was renowned and feared even by other ninja.

He nodded.

"I've heard a great deal about you and your master." The woman eyed the bodies for a long moment, then looked up a Kamakura suddenly. There was an edge of calculating assessment in her dark eyes that made him vaguely uneasy. "My name is Kinume. Would you like to assist me on my mission? I will aid you on your own as well."

"I was ordered to complete and report back as quickly as possible."

She cocked her head. "We are of friendly clans, yes? To bind a tie between allies, then. I'd like to see you fight, and I'm sure you'd like to asses my skills as well. Unless you think me unworthy…"

The inflection on the last word made him uneasy. He was almost sure he'd be in more trouble if he started an inter-clan war than if he reported back a few hours later than anticipated. He sighed. "Of course. Shall we?"

The smile he got in response left him feeling rather like he'd just missed something, which made him nervous. Still, she was good…very good, actually. She helped quite a bit in the following recon of the building and swiping of important files from an office.

He didn't help at all with the assassination. She didn't need it. Three large guards fell to poisoned throwing spikes in the blink of an eye, and the Yakuza boss's neck was snapped with an expert twist.

Standing over the corpses, she eyed him again, that same edge of calculating assessment in her gaze that unsettled him. "So? What did you think of my skills?"

"You are very good." He said truthfully.

She smiled. "You are quite acceptable yourself. Shall we make plans to work together again, then?"

He shifted. "You would have to speak to one of my clan masters if you wished me…"

"Oh, naturally." She cut him off. "Was that a yes?"

He sighed inwardly. Don't offend her, clan wars are _bad._ "If you wish."

She smiled brightly. "Excellent. I'll be in touch." She slid into the shadows and was gone.

He relaxed. She made him nervous; he was glad she was gone. Let the Phoenix Master or his _Sensei _deal with her if she inquired after him. He rather suspected that she was more interested in _him, _(or, more specifically, his master and the growing wealth and power of his clan) than in working with him.

Romance wasn't something he had much time for, and she wasn't his type anyways. But she was gone now, and no longer his problem.

With a sense of relief, he slid out of the warehouse and back into the night, cutting across several rooftops and through a few back alleyways to the motorcycle and pack of street clothes he'd hidden.


	2. Chapter 2

The Hakkōda mountains are a range near the northern tip of Honshū, the main island of Japan (the landmass we usually think of as Japan. Japan is actually composed of several thousand islands of various sizes). They were volcanically formed, but are largely dormant or extinct today.

I have nothing to base my choice for the location of the Japanese headquarters of the Arashikage clan on, save for the fact that the Hakkōda Mountains are still largely uninhabited and heavily forested. This is partly due to the fact that the Hakkōda range is very rugged; in January of 1902, one hundred and ninety nine Japanese soldiers from a detachment of two hundred and ten died in the range during a training exercise. This sort of place strikes me as a perfect environment for ninja.

Also, the ritual engagement comes from nothing but my own mind.

'Taro' is a common Japanese name. It means 'eldest son', and is usually given to exactly that.

* * *

Twenty hours later, and Kamakura was back at the Arashikage compound in the foothills of the Hakkōda mountains and giving his report to the Phoenix master.

"A Kawai Aki-no-Kami agent?" The Phoenix master frowned. "How many did she kill?"

"Twenty-six that I saw, Master."

Storm Shadow…Kamakura still thought of him by that name sometimes, even if he never called the older man anything but 'Master' or 'Phoenix Master', per custom…nodded. "A police force could handle things now, then?"

"I believe so."

"Good. Well done, Kamakura, as always." Storm Shadow smiled. "Jinx will be disappointed…she's been chafing at the bit since you left. I think she's got her things packed for an assassination mission already."

Kamakura grinned. "That does not surprise me, Master. I'm surprised Mistress Junko isn't here asking when they get to leave, actually."

Storm Shadow's face softened almost imperceptibly at the mention of his wife. "I am too, actually…" The older man cocked his head slightly. "Never mind. She's in the hall and heading this way. Dismissed, Kamakura. Your commission will be in your account in a few days."

Kamakura bowed himself out and was passed by a blur that appeared to be a small, heavily armed woman. He considered pausing in the hall to listen, but decided against it immediately. The Phoenix Master would know he was eavesdropping, and the repercussions would not be pleasant. Storm Shadow did not tolerate _anyone_ prying into his private life. Save perhaps for Snake Eyes, and that was only because the two men were close friends in addition to being the masters of the clan.

Still, he heard behind him a loud exclamation of disappointment in a warm female contralto and smiled to himself.

He headed for his own quarters. A shower, sleep, and then he was sure he'd get drafted to help with the weapon training for some of the new recruits.

* * *

Five months later…

Kamakura was woken from a sound sleep by a touch on his shoulder. He had the intruder pinned on the floor with a forearm dug into their throat before he recognized the intruder as one of the younger, newer recruits picked up through the New York school that the Arashikage ran. The newer recruits of a ninja clan, like the new recruits in the army, usually ended up stuck with things like manual labor, cleaning detail…and message delivery.

He let the young man…_kid_ was probably more appropriate, he was all of about fifteen...up. The young trainee shrank back slightly at the glare Kamakura leveled at him.

"Never." Kamakura said firmly. "Wake a fully trained ninja by grabbing them. I could very easily have broken your neck. What did you need?"

"Sorry, sir." The kid looked appropriately chagrined. Kamakura remembered distinctly the one and only time he'd woken his _Sensei_ like that, years ago on a troop transport. He'd been driven face-first into the floor and Snake Eyes had had his arms twisted back in a really painful joint lock by the time the master ninja realized who his 'attacker' was. Kamakura had been thoroughly chewed out back at base for his slip in basic common sense.

He took pity on the kid. "Just consider it a lesson learned and don't let it happen again."

The kid looked relieved. "Thank you, sir…and there was a woman at the gate for you." The trainee hesitated. "She claimed to be your fiancé."

Kamakura raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a fiancé. Did you ask for her name? She could be a hostile agent."

If she was…Kamakura wished suddenly that the Phoenix Master or his _Sensei_ were here. Storm Shadow had accepted a mission from one General Abernathy that had asked for him or Snake Eyes specifically. Snake Eyes and Scarlett had vanished to his cabin in the Sierra Nevada for a week or so with the twins; Kamakura knew that his old teacher liked to get in some 'family time' whenever possible.

That left him and Jinx as the ranking ninja at the compound, and Kamakura would really rather not have a skirmish break out when he was in charge of things.

"Yes, and clan. It's a friendly clan, so I don't think she's hostile." The recruit eyed him. "She seemed very adamant that you two were engaged, sir. She left, but she said she'd be back in a few days when you were available…I told her that you were on a mission. She said her name was Kinume."

Kamakura swallowed hard. "Clan Kawai Aki-no-Kami?"

"Yes, sir." The kid looked nervous. "She was very pretty, sir…I'm sure the Phoenix and Silent Masters wouldn't mind if you got married."

"I am not engaged." Kamakura growled. _Damn. It._ He'd put money on himself having blundered into some sort of ancient courtship ritual without knowing it during that mission…it was the sort of luck that karma seemed to delight in tormenting him with. "Thank you for the message, and for sending her away. Do you know where Mistress Junko is, by chance?"

She knew more about archaic rituals and customs than he did…mostly due to her being very close to a man who'd been raised in an ancient ninja family. Snake Eyes, for all of his skills, was not as versed in old customs and rituals as his sword brother.

Twenty minutes later, he was detailing the exact events of the Yakuza raid to Junko. She sat on one of the low stone benches in the garden and listened thoughtfully as he paced. She nodded slowly as he finished.

"Well?" He looked at her expectantly. "She said she'd be back in a few days…I need to know what I've gotten myself into here, and how to get myself _out_ of it."

She started, irritatingly enough, laughing. He scowled at her, giving her the best 'death glare' he'd copied from his _Sensei._ This, unfortunately, didn't seem to faze her.

"You, Kamakura, are engaged." She gasped at last.

He groaned. Of course. Of _course._ "How?"

"When she proposed that you aid each other on your missions…it's an old way of evaluating each other's skills to assess suitability. When she asked if you'd like to 'work together' again…she was implying that the arrangement would be permanent. It's a very old custom that's more or less fallen out of use…but Kawai Aki-no-Kami is a very old clan, and they still use some of the more ancient customs."

He sighed heavily. "But it's fallen out of use?"

"Unfortunately for you, it's still recognized by nearly all clans, for all it is uncommon." Junko glanced off to Kamakura's right. "Taro! Stay out of the pond!"

"Fishies!" The toddler responded. Kamakura almost smiled; the boy's voice was defiant.

"Come over here and be good and mommy has a toy for you."

Kamakura was nearly knocked off his feet by forty-some pounds of toddler wrapping itself around his shins. "Kammie be my toy?"

Kamakura gave Junko a slightly desperate look. The woman pulled a _shuriken_ that had had its sharp edges and points filed down out of one of her pockets. "Here, Taro. You can play with one of daddy's toys if you behave yourself."

The boy grinned happily, and thankfully turned Kamakura loose. He took the throwing star, then sat down near an anthill and started trying to stab the insects.

"That should keep him busy." Junko turned back to Kamakura. "He's been driving me mad, and Thomas isn't helping…he's had to put all of his archery supplies up on the top shelves, and Taro still keeps trying to get into them." She sighed. "Tommy thinks it's cute; I've had to drag the little terror off the bookshelves six times in the last three days." She sighed again. "He'll be a ninja for sure…gods help me when he figures out lockpicks."

"Mm." Kamakura was more concerned with his predicament than Junko and Storm Shadow's son at the moment. "So, I'm engaged. How do I get out of it?"

She eyed him. "Not easily. She'll take it as a high insult if you just tell her that you changed your mind and don't want her; it could touch off a clan war."

"But I didn't _know!"_

"I really don't think she'll care." Junko looked thoughtful. "It wouldn't be a bad match. Kawai is a strong clan, with good agents and some rather interesting techniques. They also have some very good weapon smiths, and we're still buying our weapons…if one of their daughters was to marry into the Arashikage, we might be able to steal one of their smiths in the deal."

Kamakura glared at her. "That isn't funny."

"I wasn't joking." Junko smiled. "It wouldn't be a bad match. We're small yet, but we're rich and getting richer…and they have numbers. The trainee said she was pretty, yes?"

"I. Am. Not. Getting. Married." Kamakura considered. "Yet, anyways. And definitely not for convince." He glared. "You can't talk too much…you married for love, not convenience."

Junko smiled. "True enough. Well, you can't marry anyways without asking permission from the clan masters first, and if they deny it to you for a logical reason she can't take offense."

Kamakura sighed in relief.

"But."

He felt his stomach drop again.

"If they aren't here, she has every right, as your fiancé, to track you down and demand...certain privileges."

He gulped. "Such as?"

"Well, the standard activities that take place between an engaged couple." Damn her, she was snickering. "If you really want to break it off, don't let her seduce you…if you sleep with her, there will be no way to get out of it. Even if the Silent Master or Tommy turn her away now, she'll have a claim on you whenever she finally manages to wear them down."

"Don't worry." He scowled. "Stop laughing. This is _not_ funny. When was the Phoenix Master returning?"

"Oh, yes it is. I don't know when Thomas will be back; he's in Afghanistan right now, and his mission was to take out a highly prominent terrorist leader. The man is well guarded; it might take awhile to penetrate his security. If I was you, I'd track down the Silent Master if you don't want to string her along too long."

Kamakura sighed. Snake Eyes hated, _hated, _being disturbed while on leave. It had been that way when they were in the military, and it was even more the case now. Scarlett was little better. "She'll trail me, won't she?"

"Very likely."

Okay. So the options were to disturb his _Sensei_, who would undoubtedly be irritated at being disturbed, and possibly downright irate at his old apprentice for leading a strange ninja straight to his family's retreat. Or, he could get kidnapped by said strange woman, and possibly forcibly wed. Or he could start an inter-clan war.

He wondered just what he'd done in a previous life to earn this kind of karma.

"I'll be leaving in a few hours." He sighed. "I'll take a phone if you need me for some reason. You, Jinx, and Billy can handle the recruits, can't you?"

"Of course."


	3. Chapter 3

Most people, if they wanted to get from Japan to, say, California near the Sierra Nevada range, would head for an airport. Ninja were not most people.

Airports were not kind to ninja. Metal detectors, baggage checks, rules against swords as carry-on items...such things were not good for someone who considered multiple bladed weapons and firearms as essential as pants and socks, and maybe more so.

Kamakura, Jinx, and both Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow had become accustomed to being able to requisition either land or air transport whenever they needed it during their years in the military. While some clans tended to stick to stowing aboard commercial flights or ships, the Arashikage masters had used some of the wealth earned from governmental contracts to acquire several small aircraft.

While aviation skill was not normally taught to ninja trainees, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow insisted that to theirs, it _was._ Both of the master ninja had been required to be qualified for basic aircraft operation during their military service. Kamakura, Jinx, and Billy had all been required to qualify as well when they served in G.I. Joe. This turned out to be a very useful skill indeed; Kamakura, who had not been keen on flying when he'd first started learning, was glad he had. It made things much simpler.

The flight was boring, which was what Kamakura liked flights to be...at least when he was piloting. If things were going to get too interesting, he'd rather a pilot like Ace was at the controls. Ninja were hand-to-hand and infiltration experts, not dogfighters.

The plane was left at a small county airport for refueling when he finally landed. Kamakura slipped away before too many friendly-but-searching questions could be asked; ninja got very good at leaving as minimal an impression as possible even when they were seen.

He checked into a hotel for the night; the city was too small to have a vehicle rental company, and while he had more than enough cash to acquire a cheap, disposable car the dealership was already closed.

The room was rented under an assumed name. Kamakura had roughly twelve aliases, all with proper identification, back stories, and credentials.

He didn't sleep well; he kept half-expecting _her_ to show up, even though he knew logically that it would take her at least a few days to track him down. If he knew ninja at _all_, she'd been spying on the compound when he'd left, and he'd bet quite a bit of money on her managing to find his plane...and from there, not even the best false ID or alias would keep her from finding him.

He knew that _he_ could have tracked someone that way, after all...he'd _done_ it before.

Early the next morning, he paid nine hundred dollars for a real rust-bucket of a car under an assumed name, and just made it to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada by late afternoon. After a lengthy search for a suitable vehicle, he gave up and started the last part of his trek on foot, fully aware that the hike up the mountain would probably take just as long as his flight had.

He sighed. Of _course_ there hadn't been a jeep available for sale or rent anywhere...and there wasn't a chance in hell that anything else could make it over the overgrown, halfway washed out trail that his _Sensei_ called a 'road'.

He was rather amused to see, however, that while the tiny logging town had grown somewhat over the years, the locals were still firmly convinced that the 'crazy man up the mountain' was either a werewolf or (and this was a new one) actually dead, and now a ghost that haunted the woods around the cabin. Either way, no one went near the place.

The hike actually wasn't that bad. Kamakura had been through ninja endurance training, week-long missions in hostile territory, and BeachHead's PT. Compared to any of those, a trek up even a steep, overgrown mountain trail was downright easy. It was night by the time he started out, but that didn't bother him.

It was very late (technically, morning) by the time he finally caught sight of the clearing through the trees. He slid up to the cabin without a sound and glanced in one of the windows, feeling rather guilty, but also well aware that simply walking in would probably get him shot.

Scarlett was _grumpy_ when her sleep was interrupted. His _Sensei_ probably wouldn't be happy either.

Timber...the third wolf now to carry that name, and the grandson of the original wolf that Snake Eyes had rescued many years ago from a trap...was curled up in front of the fireplace, ears twitching. The fire was banked, but what little light the coals gave off was more than enough for someone used to navigating pitch-black rooms.

Snake Eyes and Scarlett were both soundly asleep; all Kamakura could see of Scarlett was a tangle of red hair poking out of the quilts. His _Sensei_ was curled around her, one arm draped over her waist. Kamakura looked hastily away, feeling rather like a voyeur.

Definitely not a good idea to wake them; he'd be in for it enough as it was. Kamakura slid back into the woods, shinnied his way up a tree, and wedged himself into the crook of a branch.

He managed to doze; he'd slept in worse places, after all. Sleeping in trees was easier than most people thought; if you'd trained yourself to sleep lightly, you tended to wake automatically whenever balance became sketchy. And it sure as hell beat getting used as a chew toy by wolves.

It was a snarl that woke him. He glanced down, to see a lone wolf sitting by the base of his pine, sniffing the air. It was Timber; the wolf must have let himself out. Kamakura wasn't overly familiar with this particular wolf, but he'd known its father and grandfather, and both had been smarter than some people Kamakura had known. If this particular wolf was as clever as its sire, it was more than capable of nosing open a door when it wanted to get out.

But, again, this Timber didn't know Kamakura well...and was voicing its displeasure at the trespasser in a low, menacing snarl that threatened a great deal of violence if the stranger dared descend to ground level.

Kamakura eyed the bared teeth below him. Really, his _Sensei_ couldn't have come up with a better security system...

It was just about then that he felt a change in air pressure caused by something large moving very fast. He sprung for a higher branch, but too late.

A hundred and ninety pounds of black-clad ninja master tackled him clean off the tree limb; Kamakura had just about a quarter-second to be thankful he'd chosen one of the lower branches before they hit the ground.

They both rolled with the impact, but Snake Eyes still somehow ended up on top, pinning him none-too-gently to the (thankfully) thickly pine needle covered ground. A very large knife gleamed dimly in the faint starlight.

"_Sensei!_" Kamakura yelped. "Sir! It's me!"

Snake Eyes, apparently, had just realized this. The knife lowered, and he sat back on his heels, glaring at his old apprentice. He wasn't wearing a mask; Kamakura was betting that he'd been woken by Timber's growling and hadn't paused for more than the knife.

He still wasn't used to the sight of his _Sensei_ without a mask; modern medical technology and reconstructive surgery had done wonders, and all that was left of the once extensive scarring were a few faint white surgical scars. Kamakura sat up, rubbing his shoulder; he'd taken most of both of their weight on it.

*What,* Snake Eyes' signs were short and sharp, his version of an irritated growl, *are you doing here?*

"It's...a long story, _Sensei_ sir." Kamakura winced as Snake Eyes' eyes narrowed; that had _not_ been a good choice of words. "I'm in a bit of trouble. The Phoenix Master is gone on a mission; Mistress Junko advised me to find you."

A long-suffering sigh. *Of course.*

Kamakura suddenly heard footsteps, and then Scarlett, looking very much ready to kill something, had a nine millimeter semi auto sidearm leveled at his skull. She blinked, and the gun, thankfully, dropped. "Kamakura?"

"Hello, Scarlett." He carefully picked himself up.

"What the _bloody hell _are you doing here?" She clicked the safety on. "Do you have any _idea_ what time it is?"

He glanced at the sky. "Probably about four thirty...I didn't mean to wake you."

Snake Eyes sighed and stood, shaking his head. *Inside. You can explain there...and there _better_ be a good explanation for this.*


	4. Chapter 4

Inside, a lamp was lit and the fire was stirred up. Kamakura sternly kept himself from fidgeting nervously; he'd been a full field agent for a few years now, but his _Sensei_ could still make him feel like an inexperienced youngster again with a flash of that level, narrow-eyed stare.

Snake Eyes really had that look down to a fine art, actually. It was a look dreaded by every Arashikage trainee.

Scarlett glanced at the battery-powered clock on the bedside table and sighed. "I don't suppose we'll be getting back to sleep anytime soon, will we?"

*Unlikely. This promises to be good.* Snake Eyes glanced at Kamakura. *Or at least it had _better_ be.*

Scarlett grumbled, put some water on, and dug out the coffee.

A few minutes later, with a cup of coffee in front of him and Scarlett and his _Sensei_ eyeing him expectantly, Kamakura took a deep breath. He'd gone over how this would go about a hundred times during his flight, and had realized that there was no way, absolutely no way, to say this without making himself sound like an idiot. "I…seem to have accidentally gotten engaged."

Two pairs of eyebrows rose in unison.

*Engaged.* Snake Eyes sighed. *Accidently.* The older ninja closed his eyes for a moment, as if praying for patience. *I'm going to regret asking this…_how?*_

Kamakura opened his mouth to answer when a creak interrupted. He glanced towards the door that led to the cabin's other room and caught a glimpse of two small, red-haired blurs before he was tackled for the second time in twenty minutes.

There was a happy squeal as one four year old launched itself into his arms and grabbed him by the neck in a hug that came uncomfortably close to being a sleeper hold. The second twin wrapped himself around Kamakura's arm and tugged exitedly, rather hampering the ninja's efforts to pry the girl off his neck.

"You came to visit me!" This was right in his ear.

"Are you going to stay long?" That was around his elbow.

"_Sword!_?" Kamakura felt a small hand reaching for the hilt of the _ninjato_ on his back. He hastily shifted the weapon out of reach, which earned him a disappointed sort of noise. "Awww…daddy won't let us play with his things either."

"Terri! Sean!" Scarlett's voice was firm. "Bed! Grownups have to talk. Terri, stop throttling Kamakura. If anyone is going to do that tonight, it's going to be me or Snake."

The girl reluctantly let go of his neck. Kamakura took a deep breath and rubbed his throat. For someone who didn't even come up to his waist yet, she was _strong._

Instead of heading for their room however, the twins held their ground. Sean looked up at them. "But I haven't seen Kamakura in _days!"_

"Bed." The sad puppy eyes didn't seem to be working on Scarlett.

Terri narrowed her eyes, and Kamakura blinked and did a double take as a smaller, far younger, female version of his _Sensei_ glared up at her mother. "I'm not tired now. Don't wanna sleep."

Snake Eyes swiveled slightly and eyed the twins. He raised an eyebrow.

Genetic gifts aside, there was _no one_ who could stare down a man who'd spent years honing the art to the point of freezing entire viper squads in their tracks with a glare, _through_ a visor. The two children eyed each other, then quietly returned to their room and shut the door.

Kamakura didn't blame them; that particular look had been perfected years ago on himself and Jinx. It still had the power to silence even Jinx instantly.

Order restored, Kamakura explained his predicament, starting with the mission and ending with his talk with Junko just days ago. He trailed off when he saw his _Sensei's_ shoulders tense and Scarlett's…actually, that was the look she usually got just before she kicked someone.

He swallowed. This reaction didn't particularly surprise him, but it still wasn't going to be pleasant.

*You,* Snake Eyes was giving him…Kamakura swallowed again. He'd seen that look before, usually right before people started getting shot and/or stabbed. He took a breath and didn't flinch as his _Sensei's _fully-expected wrath descended. *You came _here, _when you _knew_ that you were being followed by an unfamiliar ninja?*

Snake Eyes rose and started pacing. *Friendly or not, I do _not_ like unknown agents around my family. You know better, Kamakura, or at least I thought you did.*

"I'm sorry, _Sensei._" Kamakura said miserably. "I didn't see any other options."

Scarlett put a hand on Snake's shoulder. She…Kamakura groaned. She was _laughing._ Just quiet sniggering now, but rapidly working up to full blown belly laughter.

Snake glanced at her irritably. *This isn't funny.*

Despite the situation, Kamakura felt a momentary flash of gratitude.

"Oh, lord Kamakura…and yes it is, Snake. Don't worry; between the three of us we can deal with any ninja clan around, so we're not in danger. And I can think of a few reasons to deny him permission off the top of my head, so I doubt it'll come to that anyways." She started laughing again. "Only you, Kamakura…oh, god. _Engaged." _

Kamakura glared at her. "I didn't _know_!"

Snake Eyes sighed. *To be fair, I wouldn't have either. I've never heard of that particular custom before.*

"Mistress Junko said that it's very old and very rare, _Sensei."_

*Probably why Tommy never mentioned it to me. I've never needed to deal with marriage proposals from other clans, anyway. Tommy was always the one they went after.* Snake Eyes eyed his old apprentice. *Don't look so worried. Shana's right, as usual; there are two or three good reasons to send her away that I can think of right now, and none should offend her.*

"Oh, thank you." Kamakura slumped in relief. "Thank you, _Sensei_. I really didn't want to marry her."

Snake Eyes sighed again, and then to Kamakura's absolute horror the ninja master's shoulders started shaking with silent laughter. One hand moved. *Engaged. Accidently. Because he was trying to be nice, while killing people.*

Snake sat down again, his head in his hands, panting with laughter. Scarlett was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

Kamakura knew that he was going absolutely crimson with embarrassment, which only seemed to make Scarlett and _Sensei_ laugh harder. He considered pulling the knife from his belt and committing _seppuku_ on the spot.

Snake Eyes finally straightened up. *I cannot _wait_ to see Tommy's face when he hears about this.*

Kamakura groaned inwardly. Regular ritual suicide wouldn't be quick enough. Maybe he'd just fall on his sword.

"Only…person…in…the _world."_ Scarlett gasped. She made a visible effort and managed to get herself mostly under control. "Only person...who could _accidently _get engaged…by being…" She broke down for a second again. "I'm fine. By being polite to the other _ninja_ that he met while hanging around a yakuza den..oh, _god_…I'm fine, Snake…that he was scoping out because he'd been hired to recon the place for a police bust. Only. Person. In. The. _World._"

*You forgot 'and couldn't explain things to her himself for fear of touching off a clan war between ninja.'* Snake Eyes started shaking again, and Scarlett had to lean on him, using his shoulder as support as she laughed helplessly. *You're lucky I've put so much time and effort into you, Kamakura…you really do attract trouble.*

He should have just crashed the plane somewhere in the Pacific. But no, the Arashikage needed him. Though it would be less painful than his current humiliation, _seppuku_ would be selfish.

By the time they'd finally laughed themselves outthe sky outside was starting to lighten slightly.

*If she's following you, and I don't doubt that she is,* Snake Eyes shot a look at Kamakura that told the younger man he hadn't been let off the hook for his indiscretion in dragging trouble here, *you'd best stay until she's dealt with. I would rather not have to infiltrate the Kawai Aki-no-Kami compound to rescue you because you were ambushed and dragged off by an ambitious young woman.* He stood. *Unless she is a better tracker than even 'Lonzo, which I doubt, she won't be here for another day or so. I am going back to bed. There are extra blankets in the trunk over there. You look like you haven't slept well in a few days; help yourself to a patch of floor.*

Kamakura did, gratefully.


	5. Chapter 5

Kamakura was woken by a cold wet nose in his face. Timber was sniffing at him with interest, apparently convinced that if Snake Eyes hadn't killed this stranger he must be okay. Kamakura was willing to bet that the wolf was committing him to memory as 'friend'. Given the size of Timber's teeth, Kamakura felt distinctly that this was a positive development.

He sat up, cautiously scratching the wolf behind the ears. This earned him a large wet tongue swiping across his cheek and Timber, apparently satisfied, trotted over to the door and nosed it open.

His _Sensei_ was gone. Scarlett was still asleep, snoring occasionally from deep within the cocoon of blankets she'd wrapped herself in. The twins took after Scarlett in their sleep schedule; Kamakura figured they wouldn't be awake yet either.

He glanced at the clock. Eight seventeen. He rolled to his feet, yawning briefly. He'd gone on less sleep.

Bedding put away, he glanced outside. His _Sensei_, as he had thought, was working _kata._ Kamakura sighed; no matter how good he got, no matter how hard he worked, Snake Eyes was still undoubtedly and undeniably his superior. Of course, his _Sensei_ had about twenty-some years of experience to his ten.

He edged his way out the door, staying respectfully off to one side. Snake Eyes finished his _kata_ and turned to eye his old apprentice.

*Grab those.* The older ninja pointed. Kamakura looked and found a pair of _bokken_ leaning against the wall of the cabin.

"Sir." Kamakura tossed one to his _Sensei_, who caught it easily. "Won't we wake the others?"

A snort. *Shana could sleep through a hurricane. And if we don't go in and physically drag them out of bed, the twins won't get up until noon. They were up late last night even before you decided to turn up.*

Kamakura spent the next half an hour getting handily trounced by his _Sensei._ Seeing that Snake Eyes had taught him everything he knew and could read him like a book, this didn't surprise the younger ninja too much. Well, and again with the whole 'twenty-plus years of experience' thing.

Sparring was followed by running; Kamakura jogged gamely along. When they finally looped back to the cabin, his _Sensei_ still wasn't visibly tired. Indeed, Snake Eyes seemed to be in a fairly good mood after his morning workout.

*Work your _kata.*_ Snake Eyes easily slipped back into 'instructor' mode, and Kamakura was obeying before he could think. *I'm going to go wake Shana.* A slight smile twitched the mask. *If I'm not out in ten minutes, she's probably killed me.*

He vanished into the cabin. A few minutes later as he executed a spinning hook kick and dropped low for a leg sweep, Kamakura heard a muffled yelp of indignation. He winced; he'd rather face down a squad of iron grenadiers unarmed than antagonize Scarlett before she'd gotten her morning coffee.

Several more minutes passed. Kamakura was just starting to wonder if Scarlett really _had_ strangled his _Sensei_ when he caught a whiff of coffee and cooking eggs. Scarlett herself poked her head out the door shortly afterwards, still looking slightly grumpy but with a mostly-empty coffee mug in one hand. She drained the dregs, and visibly brightened.

"Oh, that's better... If you're hungry, Snake almost has breakfast done." She vanished back inside.

Kamakura _was_ hungry. He followed her through the door and made a beeline for the coffee.

Scarlett and Snake clearly had a routine; Kamakura rather felt like an intruder. He took his coffee and settled himself out of the way at the table. Timber, nose quivering, bumped the door open and settled himself by Snake, eying the ninja (and the bacon) plaintively.

Scarlett went to get the twins up. Kamakura heard groans and loud complaints, but the redhead emerged herding the two before her in short order.

Their eyes lit up (again) at the sight of him. Kamakura sighed and submitted to their mauling with fairly good humor. For some reason he really didn't understand, children liked him, though he really didn't make any particular effort to gain their affection. He could stare down Dreadnoks, he could take on heavily armed artillery squads with his bare hands, he could stop insurgent soldiers in their tracks with a glare, but kids, almost without exception, seemed to view him simply as a walking jungle gym.

There was a cough from Snake Eyes, and the pair let go of Kamakura's arms. Kamakura automatically steered Terri's hand away from his boot and the knife hilt the girl had been reaching for. Another cough, and Terri looked up to find Snake Eyes eying her sternly.

*You're not old enough to play with one of those yet. And you don't steal unless it's from bad people or Tommy or I tell you to.*

"Yes, daddy." This had the ring of something said many times.

*Sticky fingers, you've got.* Snake Eyes smiled and shook his head. *Tommy's looking forwards to teaching her pickpocket skills…she's a natural.*

"That idea rather scares me, _Sensei." _Kamakura said honestly.

*Oh, I'm sure he'll only have her empty your pockets nine or ten times.* Snake Eyes was grinning. *Of course, it _is_ Tommy, so if it amuses him to watch you get stalked he might have her on you more or less constantly.*

Kamakura sighed. "That's what scares me, _Sensei." _He'd put quite a bit of money on the Phoenix Master finding setting his sword brother's daughter to train by stealing trinkets from his sword brother's old apprentice absolutely _hilarious_. He rather suspected that when Terri started training he wouldn't get much sleep for a few years. (and she _would; _both of the twins exhibited very single-minded insistence that they _absolutely '_wanted to be ninja like daddy'. Considering the genetics involved, Kamakura was fairly certain that the twins' stubbornness wasn't going to wane with age.)

Breakfast disposed of, Scarlett headed out for a run. The twins started up an extremely complicated game of 'tag', where the only rule seemed to be that rules were made up spur of the moment. Timber, tail wagging, bounded along with the pair happily. Snake Eyes settled himself where he could keep an eye on the pair with a whetstone, an oiled rag, and a really impressive pile of bladed weapons.

Kamakura really, really didn't want to think about what would happen to the wild animal or enemy human foolish enough to even look wrong at the pair of redheaded four year olds. He fished out his own whetstone and started going over his own small arsenal of weaponry. Snake Eyes tossed him an extra oiled rag without looking over.

When Scarlett reappeared some time later, Kamakura elected to make himself scarce; he still felt rather guiltily as if he was intruding. He slid off into the treeline, extracted a dozen throwing stars and a half dozen throwing spikes from their various hiding places on his person, and occupied himself with target practice.

He generally tried to stay out of the way for the rest of the day. This wasn't hard; he was, after all, a ninja. His _Sensei_ seemed to appreciate the effort.

Snake Eyes very, very much disliked being disturbed while on vacation, and if his apprentices found it necessary to contact him when he was on leave it generally meant that he was getting called _back_ from vacation prematurely. As a result, Kamakura hadn't seen his _Sensei_ in anything but 'instructor' or 'mission' mode very often. Watching the clearing from the top of the tree where he had _intended_ to meditate, he blinked as his _Sensei_ was ambushed by a pair of small children. The master ninja let himself be wrestled to the ground and pinned; all three seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

He closed his eyes, let out a breath, and slid into meditation.

Later that evening after dinner and herding the twins to bed (they'd gone _very_ reluctantly), Snake Eyes eyed his apprentice. *I'll take first watch tonight. Two hour shifts.*

"Sir." Kamakura had expected as much; he was, to tell the truth, not sure he _could_ sleep. He had that nagging little feeling of expectation that he usually got just before missions, but usually missions involved more anticipation and fewer nerves.

He sighed. He'd faced down dozens of Red Hands. He'd run recon on heavily guarded Cobra facilities without batting an eye. He'd broken out of detention facilities with a broken watch and a Swiss army knife lifted from one of the guards. He wasn't scared of much. He _was_ scared of ambitious_ kunoichi…_and he had no illusions that the woman was after him for his good looks or winning personality. She wanted him because he was the apprentice of a legend, and would someday be one of the masters of a powerful and wealthy clan. Assuming he lived that long; he still wasn't sure exactly what his punishment would be for dragging trouble right to his _Sensei's_ doorstep.

Well, he'd _probably_ let Kamakura live…Kamakura knew that he was one of the best operatives that the Arashikage had, and his _Sensei_ had put a lot of time and effort into his training. Actually, he rather suspected that his punishment would involve getting stuck training the _really_ green recruits for a few weeks; while he was a good teacher, he tended towards impatience, and frustration was a far more potent punishment for him than exhaustion or pain. His _Sensei_ knew this.

Despite his doubts, he _was_ an experienced soldier, if an unconventional one. Added to the fact that a few blankets on the floor was actually a _lot_ more comfortable than some of the places he'd slept, and he was out like a light seconds after closing his eyes.

He was woken by the click of a boot against the floorboards. Snake Eyes tapped his foot again; Kamakura dragged himself upright, settled his _ninjato_ on his back, and headed outside for his turn on watch.

Thankfully, nothing happened. He woke Snake Eyes with a soft "Sir?" and crawled back into his nest of blankets gratefully; he'd been more tired than he'd thought.

It was several switches later when Kamakura woke to Timber's snarl. He was on his feet and out the door in a heartbeat, closely followed by Scarlett with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.

It was just barely daylight. Timber was standing outside the door, nose in the air, sniffing. His snarl deepened. Kamakura reached for his _ninjato._

Snake Eyes was quite suddenly right beside them. His signs were rapid. *Scarlett, take the kids down to the bunker. Stay there with them.*

She glared. He scowled. *I don't have time to argue…if something goes wrong, I don't want them to lose both of us, and I want someone I trust guarding them.*

Her face softened. "Oh."

She vanished back inside. Kamakura and Snake Eyes looked in the direction Timber's snarling muzzle was pointed. Kamakura felt mildly encouraged; if she was approaching from upwind, it was a good sign of peaceful intentions. Either that or she was less skilled than he gave her credit for; either way was a fairly promising sign.

Snake Eyes was decked out in full battle gear, complete with visor and multiple firearms. He paced out to the middle of the clearing, crossed his arms, and eyed the treeline. Kamakura tagged along, staying a few feet behind his _Sensei, _and strained his ears.

Snake Eyes' visor fixed on one point in the trees; his hand moved. *Kamakura, tell her to come out here, slowly, with hands well away from her weapons. If she lurks up there much longer, I'm going to go get her down and disarm her myself, and I doubt she'll enjoy it.*

Kamakura repeated this, leaving out the last part. There was a very faint rustle of feet landing in underbrush, and a slight figure in black detached itself from the trees and approached slowly, hands spread in a gesture that signaled peaceful intent.

She wasn't wearing a mask; she was quite pretty. But there was still that edge of calculating assessment in her eyes that made Kamakura uneasy.

Ten feet or so from them, she bowed formally. "Silent Master of the Arashikage, I mean no harm." She spoke in fluent but slightly accented English.

Kamakura bit back a snort. He wouldn't put any amount of money on her chances if his _Sensei_ decided for some reason that this couldn't be resolved without violence. He was betting that she knew it too, which as much as anything else boded well for the situation; ninja were pragmatic, and she was very unlikely to fight a battle that she knew would be a losing one.

"I am hoping that Kamakura-san has explained things?" She said, still keeping her tone respectful. "I assumed that he was seeking you out to ask your permission, as is proper."

Snake Eyes' hands moved. *Ask her if she can read English. I can write it faster than Japanese.*

Kamakura did. She nodded. "I can, Silent Master."

A notepad and a pen appeared from one of Snake Eyes' pockets. Kamakura read over his _Sensei's _shoulder out of the corner of his eye, still keeping an eye on the woman.

'He has explained things to me. While it would be a good match and he has spoken highly of your skills, I must deny him permission.'

The sheet of paper was torn off and handed to Kinume. She read, and her eyebrows drew together, very slightly. "May I ask, sir…?"

Snake Eyes was already writing. 'You know, of course, that our clan is still small. Kamakura is one of our best agents, and we keep him very busy with missions and training. At the moment, we cannot afford to have him distracted from his duties by a new wife.'

This was handed to the woman. Her face smoothed as she read. "Ah. Of course. I understand, sir." She shot a rather regretful look at Kamakura. "Too bad. He's not bad looking…for an American."

Kamakura knew that he was going red. He could have sworn that his _Sensei_ was hiding a grin. Snake Eyes started writing again.

'I am sorry for your wasted trip. I would have returned in a few days, but Kamakura tends towards impatience.'

"It is not a problem, sir." She shot a grin at Kamakura that made him want to back up. "I'll consider the rush a complement. I apologize for the intrusion…I'll take my leave, then." She glanced at Kamakura. "You know my name and clan. If no other obligations come up, look me up when you've more time." The last two words were spoken with a smile that made him swallow hard, and consider again the benefits and drawbacks of committing _seppuku. _

She bowed again, and backed towards the trees, where she melted into the shadows. A few minutes elapsed, and Kamakura didn't feel the prickle of eyes on him any longer. Snake Eyes clicked his fingers; Timber trotted up. A gesture from the ninja master, and the wolf trotted off in the direction that the woman had vanished in.

*He'll keep a nose and an eye on her until she's out of the area.* Snake Eyes glanced sideways at Kamakura. *You're safe.*

"Thank you, _Sensei._" He said with feeling.

Snake Eyes sighed and turned, heading for his cabin. *I cannot _wait_ to see Tommy's face when I tell him about this.*

"I am never going to live this down, am I, _Sensei_ sir?" Kamakura said miserably.

A slight grin crinkled the mask. *No. I am putting money on Tommy not being able to stop laughing long enough to make snarky comments for quite awhile. Of course, this _is_ Tommy.* Snake Eyes seemed to consider this. Kamakura sighed; the Phoenix Master's powers of cutting sarcasm were justly famed and feared by Arashikage trainees.

"I'll head back, then." He said. "I _am_ sorry for interrupting you, _Sensei_."

Snake Eyes waved a hand. *Much as I would rather it not be so, my duties as clan master come before my vacation time. And as I said, I'd rather be interrupted on leave than have to infiltrate an up until that point friendly clan's compound and rescue you.* He shot Kamakura a look. *I would prefer you to at least _try_ and lose pursuit before you come here, though. You're on green trainee hand-to-hand duty for the next two months.*

Kamakura grimaced, though he'd rather expected that. "Yes, _Sensei_ sir."

*You'd better go say goodbye to Terri and Sean before you leave, or they'll be sulking until they see you again.* Snake Eyes shook his head. *I don't know what you did to those two, but they adore you. I'd be jealous, but they tell me that you're just _almost_ as cool as me.* The ninja master grinned.

"I have no idea, _Sensei._"

Half an hour later, and Kamakura was trekking back down the mountain, feeling considerably better than when he'd hiked up it.


	6. Chapter 6

Kamakura was feeling much better about life when he returned to the Arashikage compound. It was, he realized, starting to feel more like home than his childhood dwelling ever had. He still remembered the Pit with the sort of fondness usually associated with your first _real_ home. He supposed that this said something about just how truly bizarre his life was.

Several trainees were sweeping the hallways; they hastily slid aside and bowed as he strode past.

Then he rounded a corner and came face to face with Jinx. Her eyes lit up with a truly wicked gleam that resembled the Phoenix Master closely enough to leave no doubt that the two were cousins.

Kamakura sighed.

"So, did you break her heart, or shall I start shopping for wedding gifts?" Jinx was shaking with barely suppressed laughter. "Junko told me the whole story…_Sensei_ couldn't have been happy with you."

Kamakura scowled. "He sent her away...and no, he wasn't. I'm on basic hand to hand duty for two months."

Jinx blinked. "That's not bad. I thought he'd at _least_ have you scrubbing floors with the trainees for a week."

"I know. I got off easy." Kamakura rolled his shoulder; it still ached from the fall he'd taken on it. "Well, mostly."

Jinx winced. "Joint lock?"

"I wish. He tackled me out of a tree I was sleeping in, and used me to break his fall."

"That is why I don't even try to be stealthy anymore when I have to go and find him." Jinx looked sympathetic. "You're going to lose a limb yet, you know." She paused. "He sent her away, you said?" The gleam was back in her eyes. "If you need me to slip your love letters to her, I'll volunteer my services as courier for the star-crossed lovers."

"Shut up." Kamakura glared.

Jinx just giggled. There really should be a law against that kind of gleeful, amused, totally at his expense snicker, Kamakura reflected. He sighed. "Is there anyone who hasn't heard the story yet, or am I going to spend the next week getting laughed at?"

"Oh, it's going to be longer than a week." Jinx was grinning.

"Great." Kamakura sighed again. He _should_ have committed ritual suicide; it was just about the only thing that would ease his humiliation. "I should go and take over hand-to-hand from…"

"Billy." Jinx grinned again. "I'd give them a little while, actually. I think the trainees are working shin blocks right now, and Billy really enjoys those."

Kamakura, who had sparred Billy and had been on the receiving end of the man's shin blocks more than a few times, winced. Billy had long ago discovered that his sophisticated robotic leg could be used to block low kicks with absolutely _devastating_ results. It was also more or less the nuclear weapon of leg sweeps; any trainee who doubted the ninja abilities of a man who'd lost a leg learned better _very_ quickly. Usually after Billy invited them to go a few sparring rounds with him.

The Phoenix Master was actually rather fond of watching said matches; the man enjoyed watching his old apprentice pound disrespectful or snarky trainees through the ground. Of course, Thomas Arashikage was rather fond of pounding snarky apprentices through the ground himself. Snake Eyes, who had spent years in G.I. Joe dealing with greenshirts who at first doubted the abilities of a mute as an instructor, also was not at all adverse to personally teaching a disrespectful student better manners.

Or, on one memorable occasion involving a _really _poorly considered comment regarding Snake Eyes' muteness, _both_ of the Arashikage masters had spent some quality time with the poor man. That particular incident had gone down in history as the first time an Arashikage trainee had had to be _dragged_ off the sparring field and allowed to recover for a few hours before he was kicked out, purely because the man hadn't been able to stand under his own power.

But… "_Sensei_ said two months, and I'm not going to give him any reason to make it more." Kamakura shrugged.

"Well, true." Jinx didn't even question _how_ Snake Eyes would know if Kamakura hadn't obeyed his instructions to the letter if the man was still in California. Both of them had been his apprentice for years, and both of them were still firmly convinced that their _Sensei_ knew _everything _that the pair of them did.

She suddenly looked vaguely disappointed. "I'm leaving on a mission tonight; I do hope the Phoenix Master doesn't get back before I do. I want to see it when he hears about your little romance."

Kamakura stalked off, her laughter following him down the hallway.

When he relieved Billy from hand-to-hand, three trainees were rubbing bruised heels and ankles and Billy had a tight little grin on his face. Kamakura started back in on kicking drills and counters.

'Green' trainees wasn't perhaps an entirely proper term. Three of the Arashikage apprentices had come from the New York school, where Tiger Claw had taught them very solid basics. Another two were ex-military, who'd found their way to the Arashikage through rumor and some luck. A few had been surreptitiously recruited from more mainstream martial arts schools. Ninjutsu, however, focused very much on totally disabling or killing an opponent rather than discouraging them, and military hand-to-hand was a far cry from what a ninja considered to be acceptable combat skills. Tiger Claw's students were by far the best off, but then Kamakura would expect nothing less from a fellow apprentice of Snake Eyes.

It was still frustrating. Kamakura took a few deep breaths and reminded himself that once _he_ hadn't instinctively known the proper counter to every conceivable kick from any angle either.

It was two days before Snake Eyes turned back up. The ninja master just eyed Kamakura and asked how the trainees were coming; Kamakura couldn't remember being more grateful to anyone in his life.

Scarlett, on the other hand…Kamakura could hear her and Junko laughing clear out on the training field.

A day later, and the Phoenix Master's plane landed. Storm Shadow was grinning like a Cheshire cat when he sauntered back into the long, spotless hallways of his family's ancestral home, and vanished into his private rooms. Junko followed him.

Kamakura waited with a certain amount of resignation. Sure enough, two hours later he was being called into the Phoenix Master's study.

He bit back a groan when he bowed himself in. The Phoenix Master was grinning even more widely than his usual 'successful mission' smirk, and Snake Eyes and Junko were both present, and in Junko's case sniggering loudly. Snake Eyes was laughing just as hard, but much more quietly.

Kamakura eyed the three of them and sighed. "Permission to kill myself now, Phoenix Master?"

"Oh, I don't think so." Storm Shadow tilted his head. "This sort of thing doesn't happen every day; I'd like a chance to properly appreciate the irony of the situation." A happy sigh. "I must have made some deity happy…I just banked half a million, got to drop a severed head on the desk of a general with a surprisingly weak stomach-working with Hawk, you'd think they'd learn- and now _this._"

He leaned back in his chair. "You know, generally I advise getting to know a woman before proposing." He started shaking. "I hadn't put you down as the type to love and leave, either. _Engaged_. Really? Good god, Snake...impeccable manners while killing people really isn't in the job description. Did you teach him that, or is that just him?"

*I just taught him to show proper respect. The ability to get into a mess of that caliber is all his own.* Snake Eyes shook his head. *And I'm going to kill him sooner or later if he keeps trying to sneak up on me; I went easy on him because I'm pretty sure I just about dislocated his shoulder when I dropped him.*

"You're going soft, brother."

Snake Eyes snorted. *He'll be pulling out hair by the time the two months are up. I know my apprentice. And we can go on the sparring field anytime, brother.*

"I may take you up on that." Storm Shadow eyed Kamakura again, and started laughing. "Was she good looking?"

Junko jabbed an elbow into his ribs. "Thin ice, Tommy."

"Could she even begin to compare to Junko, however unlikely that might be?"

"Better."

Kamakura knew he was going red.

"Oh, she _was."_ Storm Shadow started laughing hard enough to make talking more or less impossible. "Should…have…made…" He took a breath. "Should have made you go through with it…we could use a good weaponsmith."

*You are not throwing my apprentice to the mercy of an ambitious woman.*

"You know, most men would _kill _for a shot with a beautiful young woman with the ability to break a man's neck with her thighs…do _not_ hit me, Junko, I'm just giving him a hard time. It's one of the privileges of being a clan master."

Junko smiled and ruffled Storm Shadow's hair. "You are a cruel man."

"Thank you. That _is_ in the job description." He started laughing again. "I haven't even heard of that particular engagement custom being used in about the last twenty years. It _would_ be Kamakura."

Kamakura considered the possibility of the floor opening up and dropping him into oblivion. It was disappointingly slim.

"You can go." Storm waved in the general direction of the door. "Try not to pick up any women on your way out. Especially since the only woman in the room at the moment is my wife. By the way, Junko, I've got a mission for you…"

Kamakura sighed, bowed himself out, and trudged down the hall. He still heard the occasional fading snickers trailing along behind him.

He _really_ hoped that everyone got over this soon. He was more than ready to forget about the whole mess.

Finis.


End file.
